New York hears Kid A in 3-D at the Sony IMAX

Capitol played Kid A to about 600 people at the Sony IMAX Theatre in New York on the evening of 5 September, the first time the American public has heard the album, four weeks before it comes out there on 3 October. Everyone was handed 3-D glasses, and the record played against a film of the ocean floor on the IMAX screen, with fish, crabs and sharks drifting through a kelp forest. A Capitol representative who introduced it told the audience to expect the unexpected, and admitted the film had not been made for the album or the night.

The British playbacks so far have been sound only, and this was the first with pictures. Passes went out at the door from 6pm, and more than 150 people were turned away.

NME found the room positive overall, with polite applause at the end. Mixmaster Mike, the Beastie Boys' DJ, was in the audience. One fan, Erik Hove, tired of the film. I wanted to hear more vocals from Thom Yorke and more guitars,¹ said another, Andy Steinitz.